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3 Must-See Bouts At ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES

May 25, 2017

ONE Championship’s return home to Singapore in 2017 is quickly shaping up to be one of the promotion’s most exciting cards. With a solid lineup centered around an epic main and co-main event, ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES promises non-stop action and excitement delivered by the world’s best martial artists.

Catch the action if you’re in town, watch it live on TV, or stream it on our website. To make things easier for you, we’ve listed down three fights on ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES that you absolutely cannot miss.

#1 Angela Lee’s Title Defense Against Istela Nunes

Angela Lee’s star has never risen higher as it has now. With seven exceptional victories in a two-year time period, “Unstoppable” has come from being a young, 19-year-old prospect to an Asian martial arts powerhouse.

Her latest performance against Jenny Huang proved that she has consistently improved her skills, and is always staying a cut above the competition.

Brazil’s Istela Nunes however, represents the toughest challenge for Lee to date. Despite Lee’s incredibly polished stand-up game, the two-time Muay Thai world champion Nunes is poised to give the reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion a rough night.

Nunes, also an unbeaten fighter with five victories as a professional, possesses an impressive resume as a striker. Her ability to stand and trade and get the most out of exchanges on her feet should not be overlooked.

Nunes’ ONE Championship debut against the veteran Mei Yamaguchi proved that she belongs in the cage against Lee, and the two are expected to satisfy an eager crowd. Lee may have to fall back on her world-class grappling to overcome this one.

#2 Ben Askren Takes On The Undefeated Agilan Thani

Nothing is more exciting in a fight than when the underdog goes head-to-head with the odds-on favorite. Such is the case between reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren and title challenger Agilan Thani.

The two have traded verbal barbs on social media leading up to this fight, and it would be interesting to see just how Thani’s skills have progressed, and if he is able to hang with a World Champion such as Askren.

After seven straight awe-inspiring performances, which have all ended in highlight-reel finishes, we can safely deduce that Thani is in fact the real deal. The 21-year-old’s skills have certainly rounded out quite nicely, as he has thus far exhibited solid wrestling ability and surprisingly good hands during striking exchanges. Rich Franklin has even gone as far as declaring Thani a more well-rounded fighter than Askren.

However, Askren is in fact perhaps the best in the world at what he does ­– and that’s bringing opponents down to the mat and keeping them there for an endless volley of punishing ground-and-pound.

Askren is relentless with his takedowns, and with the exception of one opponent, has easily taken down virtually every man he has ever faced.

#3 Shinya Aoki And Garry Tonon’s Grappling Super-Match

Always willing to innovate and try new ways to entertain their fans, ONE Championship is pioneering its first-ever Grappling Super-Match in promotional history. Both competitors will be given 15 minutes straight to try and submit one another, with the bout declared a draw should the bout go the distance.

For the first time, Brazilian jiu-jitsu in one of its purest forms is making an appearance, giving fans who have never seen a grappling competition a taste of the action. And fans are in for a real treat, with BJJ legends Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki and Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon gracing the cage for this momentous occasion.

Both Aoki and Tonon are highly-decorated BJJ world champions. If you’re a fan of grappling and enjoy watching the technical, scientific aspect of ground fighting, then you’re not going to want to miss this epic showdown. You’ll get a front-row seat to what happens when two world-class grapplers are allowed to flourish in their element.